Post-implementation review of the coroner reforms in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Overview

When the coroner reforms in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (“the 2009 Act”) came into effect in July 2013, the last Government made a commitment to review their impact after they had been in place for 18 months.

The aims of the 2009 Act were to put the needs of bereaved people at the heart of the coroner service; for coroner services to be locally delivered within a framework of national standards; and to enable a more efficient system of investigations and inquests.

This review seeks to find out whether the coroner reforms are operating as planned and whether there have been any unintended consequences. We are interested in hearing about people’s experiences of aspects of coroner services that were reformed under the 2009 Act.

The key areas of change were the following:

• The publication of statutory guidance, the “Guide to Coroners Services”, for bereaved people (available from coroners’ offices and on gov.uk)
• A requirement that coroners disclose information that bereaved people request during an investigation, free of charge;
• A requirement for all inquests to be recorded;
• A requirement that coroners are available at all times to address matters which must be dealt with immediately;
• A requirement that bereaved people and other interested persons are notified of inquest arrangements and any changes within a week of the arrangements or changes made;
• Flexibility of the location for inquests and post-mortem examinations which may now be held anywhere in England and Wales rather than being restricted to the coroner’s area.

This review will run from 15 October 2015 to 10 December 2015. The Government’s response will be published in due course.

You can contribute to the review via this Call for Evidence.